Autonomous ocean carbon system observations from gliders

Climate change is altering the ocean carbonate system decreasing the seawater pH. To quantify these changes novel sampling and monitoring methods are necessary. One of these methods are gliders. The sensors to fit on a glider need to have a compact size, low-cost, stability, accuracy and fast response. For the first time, a CO2 optode (Aanderaa), a potentiometric pH glass electrode (Fluidion) and a spectrophotometric labon-chip pH sensor (UK National Oceanography Centre) were tested on gliders. The CO2 optode was deployed for 8 months in the Norwegian Sea, with an O2 optode. The CO2 measurements required several corrections. The calibrated optode CO2 concentrations and a regional parameterisation of total alkalinity (AT) were used to calculate dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations (CT) with a standard deviation of 11 μmol kg-1. The O2 and CO2 data were used to calculate CT- and O2-based net community production (NCP) from inventory changes combined with estimates of air-sea exchange, diapycnal mixing and entrainment of deeper waters. Because of the summer period the NCP was largely positive. The spectrophotometric pH sensor, the glass electrode and an O2 optode were deployed on a Seaglider for 10 days in the North Sea. Before the deployment, laboratory tests showed that the main source of error for glass electrodes is drift when deployed in seawater. The spectrophotometric sensor was stable with an accuracy of 0.002 and was used as reference to calibrate the glass electrode. The potentiometric sensor failed after 2 days' deployment and was not affected by drift (<0.01), because it had been stored in seawater for 2 months. The spectrophotometric sensor had a mean bias of 0.006±0.008 (1σ) compared with pH derived from discrete AT and CT samples, higher than in the laboratory. The data were used to calculate O2 and CO2 air-sea fluxes and bottom respiration rates

Long Term Study of the Double Pulsar J0737-3039 with XMM-Newton: pulsar timing

The relativistic double neutron star binary PSR J0737-3039 shows clear evidence of orbital phase-dependent wind-companion interaction, both in radio and X-rays. In this paper we present the results of timing analysis of PSR J0737-3039 performed during 2006 and 2011 XMM-Newton Large Programs that collected ~20,000 X-ray counts from the system. We detected pulsations from PSR J0737-3039A (PSR A) through the most accurate timing measurement obtained by XMM-Newton so far, the spin period error being of 2x10^-13 s. PSR A's pulse profile in X-rays is very stable despite significant relativistic spin precession that occurred within the time span of observations. This yields a constraint on the misalignment between the spin axis and the orbital momentum axis Delta_A ~6.6^{+1.3}_{-5.4} deg, consistent with estimates based on radio data. We confirmed pulsed emission from PSR J0737-3039B (PSR B) in X-rays even after its disappearance in radio. The unusual phenomenology of PSR B's X-ray emission includes orbital pulsed flux and profile variations as well as a loss of pulsar phase coherence on time scales of years. We hypothesize that this is due to the interaction of PSR A's wind with PSR B's magnetosphere and orbital-dependent penetration of the wind plasma onto PSR B closed field lines. Finally, the analysis of the full XMM-Newton dataset provided evidences of orbital flux variability (~7%) for the first time, involving a bow-shock scenario between PSR A's wind and PSR B's magnetosphere.Comment: Comments: 16 Pages, 6 Figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal (Draft Version

Spin-down rate and inferred dipole magnetic field of the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41

Using Chandra data taken on 2008 June, we detected pulsations at 2.59439(4) s in the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1627-41. This is the second measurement of the source spin period and allows us to derive for the first time a long-term spin-down rate of (1.9 +/- 0.4)E-11 s/s. From this value we infer for SGR 1627-41 a characteristic age of 2.2 kyr, a spin-down luminosity of 4E+34 erg/s (one of the highest among sources of the same class), and a surface dipole magnetic field strength of 2E+14 G. These properties confirm the magnetar nature of SGR 1627-41; however, they should be considered with caution since they were derived on the basis of a period derivative measurement made using two epochs only and magnetar spin-down rates are generally highly variable. The pulse profile, double-peaked and with a pulsed fraction of (13 +/- 2)% in the 2-10 keV range, closely resembles that observed by XMM-Newton in 2008 September. Having for the first time a timing model for this SGR, we also searched for a pulsed signal in archival radio data collected with the Parkes radio telescope nine months after the previous X-ray outburst. No evidence for radio pulsations was found, down to a luminosity level 10-20 times fainter (for a 10% duty cycle and a distance of 11 kpc) than the peak luminosity shown by the known radio magnetars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Modeling Nanocarrier Transport across a 3D In Vitro Human Blood‐Brain–Barrier Microvasculature

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Search for FRB and FRB-like single pulses in Parkes magnetar data

We present the results of a search for strong single radio pulses emitted by magnetars and for FRB signals in the fields of magnetars observed at the Parkes radio telescope within the NAPA project P626. Unsurprisingly, given the short total observing time, no extragalacic FRB signal was found up to a DM of 3000 pc/cm3. Two strong pulses dispersed at the DM of the known radio magnetar J1550-5418 where found, one occurring at the same time of an X-ray burst. This result is potentially interesting in the framework of magnetar models for FRBs

Swift monitoring of the central X-ray source in RCW 103

The X-ray source 1E 161348-5055 lies at the centre of the 2-kyr-old supernova remnant RCW 103. Owing to its 24-ks modulation, orders-of-magnitude flux variability over a few months/years, and lack of an obvious optical counterpart, 1E 161348-5055 defies assignment to any known class of X-ray sources. Starting from April 2006, Swift observed 1E 161348-5055 with its X-ray telescope for 2 ks approximately once per month. During the five years covered, the source has remained in a quiescent state, with an average observed flux of 1.7e-12 erg/cm^2/s (1-10 keV), about 20 times lower than the historical maximum attained in its 1999-2000 outburst. The long time-span of the Swift data allows us to obtain an accurate measure of the period of 1E 161348-5055 [P = 24030.42(2) s] and to derive the first upper limit on its period derivative (|dP/dt| < 1.6e-9 s/s at 3 sigma).Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Figures 2,3 and 5 in reduced qualit

Radio pulsations from the γ\gamma-ray millisecond pulsar PSR J2039-5617

The predicted nature of the candidate redback pulsar 3FGL\,J2039.6$-$5618 was recently confirmed by the discovery of $\gamma$-ray millisecond pulsations (Clark et al. 2020, hereafter Paper\,I), which identify this $\gamma$-ray source as \msp. We observed this object with the Parkes radio telescope in 2016 and 2019. We detect radio pulsations at 1.4\,GHz and 3.1\,GHz, at the 2.6ms period discovered in $\gamma$-rays, and also at 0.7\,GHz in one 2015 archival observation. In all bands, the radio pulse profile is characterised by a single relatively broad peak which leads the main $\gamma$-ray peak. At 1.4\,GHz we found clear evidence of eclipses of the radio signal for about half of the orbit, a characteristic phenomenon in redback systems, which we associate with the presence of intra-binary gas. From the dispersion measure of $24.57\pm0.03$\,pc\,cm$^{-3}$ we derive a pulsar distance of $0.9\pm 0.2$\,kpc or $1.7\pm0.7$\,kpc, depending on the assumed Galactic electron density model. The modelling of the radio and $\gamma$-ray light curves leads to an independent determination of the orbital inclination, and to a determination of the pulsar mass, qualitatively consistent to the results in Paper\,I.Comment: 18 pages, accepted for publication on MNRA

X-ray and radio bursts from the magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408

We report on simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of the radio-emitting magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408 on 2009 January 25 and February 3, with the 64 m Parkes radio telescope and the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. The magnetar was observed in a period of intense X-ray bursting activity and enhanced X-ray emission. We report here on the detection of two radio bursts from 1E 1547.0-5408 reminiscent of fast radio bursts (FRBs). One of the radio bursts was anticipated by ∼1 s (about half a rotation period of the pulsar) by a bright SGR-like X-ray burst, resulting in a F/F ∼ 10. Radio pulsations were not detected during the observation showing the FRB-like radio bursts, while they were detected in the previous radio observation. We also found that the two radio bursts are neither aligned with the latter radio pulsations nor with the peak of the X-ray pulse profile (phase shift of ∼0.2). Comparing the luminosity of these FRB-like bursts and those reported from SGR 1935 +2154, we find that the wide range in radio efficiency and/or luminosity of magnetar bursts in the Galaxy may bridge the gap between “ordinary” pulsar radio bursts and the extragalactic FRB phenomenon.G.L.I. and L.S. acknowledge funding from ASI-INAF agreements I/037/12/0 and 2017-14-H.O. G.L.I. and A.T. acknowledge financial support from the Italian MIUR PRIN grant 2017LJ39LM. M.B., A.P., and L.S. acknowledge funding from the grant “iPeska” (INAF PRIN-SKA/CTA; PI Possenti). N.R. is supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant “MAGNESIA” (nr.817661), and by grants SGR2017-1383 and PGC2018-095512-BI00. We acknowledge the support of the PHAROS COST Action (CA16214)